Kurt Eggers, Ph.D., examines temperament as a critical factor in understanding and supporting children who stutter. Temperament, defined as biologically based differences in emotional reactivity and self-regulation, influences stress responses, learning, and social-emotional development. Research shows children who stutter often exhibit higher negative reactivity and lower self-regulation, which may affect stuttering severity, impact, and persistence, as well as co-occurring anxiety and depression. He discusses how temperament interacts with stuttering and explores assessment tools and intervention strategies that incorporate emotional regulation and goodness-of-fit principles. Practical implications for individualized therapy and links to established approaches are highlighted.

Presenter Bio: Kurt Eggers is a professor at the SLP department of Ghent University (Belgium) where he coordinates the Stuttering Research Group (https://srg.ugent.be). He is chair of the European Stuttering Specialization (https://www.stutteringspecialization.eu), past president of the World Stuttering and Cluttering Organization, and Secretary of the Certified European Stuttering Specialists. Kurt has worked clinically for many years, and his research focuses on temperament, attention, and executive functioning in stuttering and speech disfluencies in different populations.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion, participants will be able to:

1. Define temperament and explain its relevance to stuttering and related psychosocial outcomes.
2. Identify evidence-based methods for assessing temperament in children who stutter.
3. Discuss research findings on temperament's role in stuttering severity, impact, and persistence.
4. Apply temperament-informed strategies to enhance therapy effectiveness and tailor interventions.

DISCLOSURES: Kurt Eggers has no financial relationship with the Stuttering Foundation to disclose. Dr. Eggers has no non-financial relationship with the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation to disclose.

SATISFACTORY COMPLETION: Course takers must earn a passing score on a multiple-choice test in order to achieve satisfactory completion.